U.S.
Updated on: February 22, 2026 / 2:26 PM EST
/ CBS/AP
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More than 35 million people are under blizzard warnings as a winter storm is forecast to pummel the East Coast with heavy snow and fierce winds Sunday into Monday. For many areas in the Northeast, it’s expected to be the biggest winter storm in nearly a decade.
Blizzard warnings have been issued for New York City, New Jersey and coastal communities along the East Coast from the Mid-Atlantic to southern New England. Winter storm warnings were in effect for another 19 million people from the central Appalachians to Maine.
Governors in multiple states declared a state of emergency for the storm and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered a citywide ban on nonessential travel beginning at 9 p.m. Sunday.
“While we do get plenty of these nor’easters that produce heavy snow and strong impacts, it’s been several years since we saw one of this magnitude across this large of a region in this very populated part of the country,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Maps show snow forecast, blizzard warnings
New York City could be hit especially hard. Meteorologists forecast 12-18 inches of snow accumulation in the metro area, with more possible in some areas. This is the first time in nine years that a blizzard warning has been issued for the Big Apple.
The National Weather Service says a storm meets the definition of a blizzard when there is “snow and/or blowing snow reducing visibility to 1/4 mile or less for 3 hours or longer” and also “sustained winds of 35 mph or greater or frequent gusts to 35 mph or greater.”
Major snowfall is in the forecast for a huge section of the eastern U.S.
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Mayor Mamdani urged New Yorkers to stay inside and off the roads for the duration of the storm. On Sunday, he canceled schools for Monday and declared a state of emergency that includes a citywide travel ban from 9 p.m. Sunday through noon Monday, with streets, highways and bridges shut down to all traffic except essential and emergency services.
“New York City has not faced a storm of this scale in the last decade,” Mamdani said. “We are asking New Yorkers to avoid all nonessential travel.”
New York City was loading up more than 700 salt spreaders and turning more than 2,000 garbage trucks into snowplows, he said This is the new mayor’s second major snowstorm in the first two months of his administration. At least 19 people died during brutally cold weather that lasted more than three weeks.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency ahead of the nor’easter and activated about 100 members of the National Guard.
“This will be something the likes of which we’ve not seen in years,” Hochul said. “People will be in the dark. Long Island and New York City and lower Hudson are literally in the direct eye of the storm”
The forecast for snow accumulation along the East Coast.
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New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill also declared a state of emergency starting Sunday at noon, saying she expects “severe blizzard conditions across our state.”
“I am urging you to make plans to stay off the roads Sunday through Monday,” Sherrill said in a news conference Saturday.
The weather service said 1 to 2 feet of snow was possible in many areas as it issued blizzard warnings for New York City, Long Island, southern Connecticut and coastal communities in New Jersey and Delaware. Snowfall totals upwards of 6-18 inches are possible across the Northeast. Lower snowfall amounts are expected in the Mid-Atlantic area.
Flooding was possible in parts of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, the weather service said.
A blizzard warning was also issued for parts of southern New England — its first in four years. CBS Boston reported the storm is forecast to hit the city and surrounding areas with up to 2 feet of snow Sunday night through Monday afternoon.
Blizzard and winter storm warnings for the East Coast.
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CBS News meteorologist Andrew Kozak said that several major Northeast cities under blizzard warnings on Sunday, including New York City and Boston, “will have a combination of wind blowing snow, and reduced visibilities that are going to be very dangerous across the next 24 to 48 hours.”
He said conditions would take a turn for the worse beginning Sunday afternoon and continue into the Sunday evening hours.
“By Sunday afternoon, colder air rushes in, the snow starts to pile up, and very, very quickly,” Kozak said.
The storm began to arrive quietly on Sunday with rainfall in some places before worsening, with the heaviest snowfall expected Sunday night. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are expected by Sunday night, with higher rates, up to 2 to 3 inches per hour, possible from Philadelphia to New York City and into southern New England.
The weather service warned that the storm, with steady winds of 25 to 35 mph, would “make travel dangerous, if not impossible. Scattered downed tree limbs and power outages are possible due to snow load and strong winds.”
Stronger wind gusts, of 40 mph to 70 mph, could also produce drifting snow, hampering visibility and potentially causing whiteout conditions. Kozak said that travel along major corridors, including Interstates 95, 78, 80, 84, and the Massachusetts Turnpike, may become extremely dangerous or impossible during the height of the storm.
Wind gusts could potentially create perilous travel conditions, including whiteouts.
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On Saturday, officials in Atlantic City, New Jersey, urged residents and casino visitors to stay off streets during the storm, especially in low-lying neighborhoods prone to flooding.
“I could go on and on probably with a good two dozen streets where we know we will get water and there will be snow on top of that, said Scott Evans, the city’s fire chief and emergency management coordinator. “So you won’t be able to see it until it’s too late, so therefore please stay at home.”
The storm approached just as the icy remains of a snowstorm that struck the region weeks earlier were finally melting away.
Airlines cancel flights in region
Delta announced Saturday that it has cancelled flights for Sunday and Monday at New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK and Boston. Customers headed to East Coast airports have flexible options to rebook.
There are more than 2,700 flights cancelled on Sunday, according to flight tracker FlightAware, with the majority scheduled to arrive or leave from the New York City metro area. Delta cancelled 303 flights, while JetBlue cancelled 426 flights and American Airlines cancelled 333 flights, according to FlightAware.
Monday showed more than 3,000 cancelled flights, according to FlightAware, with JetBlue canceling 687 flights, Delta canceling 443 flights and American canceling 521 flights, primarily in New York City and Boston airports.
In a statement provided to CBS News Saturday night, JetBlue said it had canceled a total of about 1,200 flights that were scheduled between Sunday afternoon and Tuesday, with more cancellations expected.
“The safety of our customers and crewmembers is our first priority, and we will continue to track the storm to determine if additional operational adjustments will be required,” JetBlue said.
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